Games to Help Kids Rise to the Trot on Horses

Rising or posting to the trot is the method when riders sit and stand in rhythm to the horse's movement at the trot. The movement is made possible by the horse's steps at the trot, where the legs move in diagonal pairs. For example, the horse will move his right front leg and left hind leg at the same time. It can be difficult for children to pick up the rhythm of the trot in order to post to it.

  1. Going Up and Down

    • The first exercise you can use to teach rising to the trot is having the children rise up and down at the walk. Having the child say "up" and "down" in rhythm with what she is doing will help shy kids become more outspoken, and, since it is harder to rise at the walk, the children will develop leg strength.

    "Ouch!"

    • Once the child is trotting, you can help her learn to rise and sit faster by having her pretend that there is a pin in the saddle that she lands on every time she sits. By having her yell "Ouch!" or "Ow!" every time she sits, she learns the rhythm and will have more incentive to get up quicker. This exercise is recommended in Jane Wallace's "Teaching Children to Ride."

    Number of Beats

    • For children who have been rising the trot for a while but still have problems with position, body control or rhythm, riding instructor Kari Walsh says in the article "10 Ways to Have Fun with Flatwork," you can have them alter the number of steps sitting and rising. For example, have the children rise for two of the horse's steps and sit for one step instead of the normal "up-down, up-down" of rising trot. You can gradually work up to even harder rhythms, such as four steps up and two steps sitting.

    Two-Point

    • If the child is having trouble developing the leg strength for rising trot, practice in two-point is the best way to strengthen the leg, according to Olympian George Morris in his book "Hunter Seat Equitation." You can make two-point position, where the child stands up slightly in her stirrups with her upper body slightly forward, fun by having her count how long she can stand up and seeing if she can beat her time each time she stands up.